Author¡¯s Note: UGHHHHHHHHH I don¡¯t care if it¡¯s Saitoh or Saito or Saitou¡¦I¡¯m using Saitou so have mercy. Oh and I don¡¯t own any of the Rurouni Kenshin characters¡¦.bleh ^^

Pain.

Like fire, engulfing my heart, drying my throat, and stinging my eyes.

I numbly stared at my brother¡¯s limp body, my mind unable to comprehend the sight in front of me. Thick crimson liquid splattered and painted his body leaving a dry sick odor in the cold winter¡¯s wind.

No! Takeru! My mind fiercely cried, at heart weeping and mourning.

Please not him, let it be another man that only looks like him- oh just not Takeru!


My legs grew weak and wobbly. Unable to stand, I fell on my knees. ¡°¡¦.no¡± I wept, a rain of tears sliding my face. ¡°Not him too¡¦¡±

The news had been the hardest for my father. Kyoto was not safe anymore. Massive murders and mysterious deaths have now become frequent. When my third and last brother Takeru died, my father broke down. The deaths of his three sons has shattered his heart.

After Takeru¡¯s burial I had vowed to find this murderer and avenge my brothers¡¯ deaths. I would find the killer and make sure he would suffer the injury he has caused to our family.

I smiled despite myself, biting back a hysterical laugh. I was the only heir of the Takagi¡¦daughter of high samurai official Takagi Kojuurou. I would have to look after myself. Who knows if the bastard killer wanted the end of the name Takagi?

Dismissing my mad visions of revenge, I sat outside. The wind was cold.

I blinked back a wave of tears and looked up at the rising sun¡¦he should be here any moment¡¦-

¡°Tokio san!¡±

I squinted at a tall running figure making his way towards me.

¡°Eh?¡± I turned and gave Ijaou a small smile, ¡°You¡¯re late¡±

Ijaou panted, ¡°Damned Shinsengumi blocking up all the roads¡±

I frowned, ¡°Are the Shinsengumi still here? It¡¯s a pity that their existence is useless¡±

Yes the Shinsengumi or the Miburo, an organization of samurais parading around Kyoto, their duty to protect Kyoto¡¯s citizens. Instead, the Shinsengumi itself was a threat to Kyoto. They used fear and evil deeds in order to get what they wanted. Like a pack of hungry wolves, they stalked these streets day and mostly night. Even with the Shinsengumi here, nothing has changed. The word death has not been uncommon these days.

¡°Watch that tongue little lady¡¦they¡¯ll give you a hard time if they heard you talking like that¡± he grinned, ¡°Although the little lady does have some abilities to wield a sword¡±

I laughed as I unsheathed my katana, ¡°Shall we start our training?¡±

Sweat trickled down my eyebrows and in my eyes. Ignoring the sting, I restrained my blinking reflex and concentrated on Ijaou. I held my sword pointing at Ijaou¡¯s face as his pointed at mine.


¡±Your strokes are too stiff and rigid- try to move more like¡¦water¡±

I blinked and snorted, ¡°I still haven¡¯t done it right?¡±

Ijaou sighed, ¡°You¡¯re only focused on power, while you should be focused on speed and defense. You can¡¯t win the battle like this¡±

¡°The only thing I¡¯ve been doing all day was blocking your blows¡± I dryly retorted, my face heating up from embarrassment.

Ijaou broke my steady glance, turning his head to the side. ¡°You have potential Tokio, but what good is it if you are not willing to harness it?¡±

¡°I do want to master sword fighting! I have practiced-¡±

¡°You need more determination Tokio¡¦something¡¯s holding you back and you need to let that go¡±

The blush on my cheeks might have reddened even more as the heat creeping my face increased.

Angrily, I slowly whispered, ¡° I want to learn¡¦but¡± I faltered, watching a strange light flicker in Ijaou¡¯s dark eyes.

¡°¡¦but I¡¯m afraid¡±

Ijaou broke into a smile, ¡°Well that¡¯s understandable¡±

I shrewdly glared at him, ¡°It is?¡±

Ijaou shrugged carelessly, ¡°Scared of what Tokio?¡±

¡°Eh?¡± Surprised I dropped my sword, ¡°¡¦.eh¡¦none of your business!¡±

Ijaou laughed, ¡°Alright then!¡± His carefree eyes danced.

¡°Hmph¡°

¡°Tokio¡¦¡±

¡° It¡¯s just that-I¡¯m afraid¡¦.afraid I won¡¯t be able to defend myself¡¦.that I¡¯d end up like¡¦all of them¡± I cautiously spoke

¡°Idiot¡± Ijaou grumbled, ¡°Is that what your scared of?¡±

¡°¡¦.I guess¡±

¡°Let¡¯s resume our lesson¡±

I shrugged, ¡°What are you scared of Ijaou san? I mean- what¡¯s your fear in life?¡±

Ijaou paused before replying, ¡°I¡¯m not afraid of death Tokio san-¡°

¡°Then what-¡±

A dark wave of emotion flashed in Ijaous¡¯ eyes. ¡°Tokio san¡¦you¡¯re still young- twenty?¡±

I said nothing.

¡°I¡¯m afraid of taking another man¡¯s life¡± Ijaou painfully smiled, ¡°Call me a coward but I do not wish to harm and destroy a body¡±

I froze, ¡°Ijaou san¡¦.¡±

A light chuckle, ¡°To kill or to be killed is inevitable¡¦these days¡¦¡±

Silence

¡°I¡¯d rather be killed¡±

Those words tore my heart, unable to fight these rising emotions I raised my hand and struck his cheek.

¡°Fool! Do you know how much you mean to my father? Your parents? To me?¡±

I glared at him, slowly watching him touch his burning cheek.

¡°Sorry¡± there was remorse in his eyes.

¡°You¡¯re like a brother to me Ijaou! If you don¡¯t learn how to-to fight and kill¡¦¡±

¡°I¡¯d surely be dead by next week¡¦I know¡¦.Tokio san, ever since Takeru died- I have no will to fight¡± He continued, ¡°I guess now my purpose in this life is to teach his sister how to master the sword¡±

I gazed at my dead brother¡¯s best friend, ¡°Ijaou san- you moron¡±

Ijaou sighed, ¡°Teaching this brat ¡®s gonna be pretty hard¡±

¡°WHAT?¡± with a fluid movement, I took off my sandal and smacked his face.

I nodded and returned Ijaou¡¯s smile with a smirk, ¡°I guess that¡¯s enough for today¡±

¡°I should be getting back to the store¡± Ijaou groaned, ¡°A lot of customers during the afternoon¡±

I agreed and waved goodbye as Ijaou¡¯s retreating dark figure silently disappeared.

Shopping


To Hell with shopping.

To the darkest of pits with shopping.

Curse this.

Ignoring a pair of giggling girls arguing about the prices of the fish, I stalked angrily around the market unable to identify Ijaou¡¯s bakery.

¡°Move out of the way! The Shinsengumi¡¯s first unit has arrived to patrol the area!¡±

I disgustedly rolled my eyes. Patrol? I snorted, more like cause havoc to the helpless.

Ignoring the hollering man, I resumed my search of the bakery.

¡°The suspect should be here right now¡±

¡°The one that is responsible for the recent killings?¡±

¡°Yes, the Takagi brothers, Shingi boy, Caratoi-¡±

¡°Call for unit three¡±

I froze, my feet unwilling to move. Have I just heard what I heard?

My ears instantly caught the hush of soft whispers. The killer? Here? In the markets? My hand instantly reached and touched my katana. Peeking at the speakers, I spotted Okita Souji, Shinsengumi¡¯s captain of unit one, and an Shinsengumi soldier. After an exchange of a few words, Souji nodded, as the soldier rushed off silently.

Each giant thump my heart made and the loud quick breaths I made, caused the situation to be more frightening than usual. The killer of my brothers¡¦here? In the same market? Absurd! But if it were true¡¦.my fingers unconsciously rested on the handle of my sword. There would indeed be blood spilled.

¡°Miss?¡±

Startled I dropped my shopping basket.

I whirled around.

Okita Souji.

Panic rising from my stomach I stuttered.

Calm down.

Calm

Feel beautiful weather¡¯s sun.

Peace.

¡°Y-Yes?¡±

The young captain grinned, ¡°Might I ask for your han?¡±

¡°Me? I¡¯m Takagi Tokio-¡± I silently cursed myself for my rushed breathless introduction.

The seemingly innocent captain Souji did not look surprised, ¡°Ah¡¦.Takagi? What were you doing behind the fish stand?¡±

¡°Eh?!¡± my eyes widened. How could he have seen me eavesdrop? Was this man serious?

Stupid stupid¡¦.curse the Shinsengumi and their-their sharp eyes.

¡°You wouldn¡¯t have happened to have heard the interesting conversation I had with my recruit?¡±

I felt myself blush, angrily I said, ¡°I did no such thing¡±

With that said, I turned briskly and stomped away, only to feel a hand on my shoulder.

¡°Sumimasen, I didn¡¯t mean to offend you¡± Souji¡¯s voice tickled my ear.

I opened my mouth for another retort. Swiftly Souji¡¯s precise hands flew to my katana, drawing my sword out.

¡°What would a woman need a sword for Tokio san?¡±

My eyes widened at Souji¡¯s speed. Quickly I narrowed my eyes and gritted my teeth, the feeling of defenselessness was choking me. ¡°Give me my sword Shinsengumi¡±

A smile played on Souji¡¯s lips, ¡°Very rare for a girl to be carrying a sword around¡¦¡±

¡°Amused?¡± I dryly replied, ¡°Everyone here, especially women, should be armed¡±

Souji nodded offering my sword back, I swiped it away.

¡° I could see you practice your sword¡± Souji pointed out.

¡°Shouldn¡¯t you go find the killer of yours-¡° my mouth clamped shut and humiliation swept me.

Souji laughed, ¡°So you were listening¡±

Stupid

Stupid

Stupid


Stupid

¡°Hey you! Leave Tokio alone!¡± a familiar hand rested my shoulder.

Ijaou laid a protective arm in front of me, ¡°Souji, captain of troops one?¡¯

Souji grinned, ¡°It would be best if you didn¡¯t interfere with the Shinsengumi investigation¡± his eyes on mine.

¡°What?¡± Ijaou spat

¡°I must be off- It was a pleasure meeting you Tokio san¡± Souji turned.

Watching the Shinsengumi gracefully walk away, I smacked my forehead, ¡°Ijaou¡¦.thanks¡±

Ijaou remained silent until, ¡°Damn that Shinsengumi¡¦does harassing girls serve as their daily routine?¡¯

I didn¡¯t answer. There was a killer walking around somewhere here, I remembered.

I ignored the thought of Souji¡¯s warning and tugged Ijaou¡¯s sleeve, ¡°Ijaou san¡±

¡°What-¡±

An explosion behind me knocked my knees to the ground, as Ijaou reflexively covered his body over mine.


What on earth?

My ears hurt at the sound of screaming people. The sound of death.

¡°Tokio are you alright?¡±

I met Ijaou¡¯s concerned dark eyes and noticed his bleeding arm, ¡°Ijaou san!¡±

His eyes followed mine and waved dismissively, ¡°Run Tokio¡±

¡°No!¡± I stopped when I saw fire on buildings and stores, ¡°A bomb?¡±

A hard shake aroused my trance and I cried, ¡°Ijaou there¡¯s an assassin here¡±

¡°The Shinsengumi are here so don¡¯t worry¡± Ijaou coughed, ¡°What assassin? Did that Shinsengumi tell you that?¡±

¡°No¡± my eyes frantically stared at the chaos in front of us. Rubbles of wood and products spewed to the ground, fire was clawing from one building to another. Some bodies lay unmoving. ¡°I-I overheard him- he-he said that the killer was here¡±

¡°What killer?¡± Ijaou shook me

¡°The one who killed my brothers¡± my voice came out in a dull flat tone.

Ijaou¡¯s eyes widened, his grasp on my arm tightened, ¡°Go Tokio run-find a Shimsengumi and have him escort you home¡±

¡°What?¡±

Ignoring my cry, Ijaou jumped up his jaws clenched, his hand on his katana.

¡°Ijaou san!¡±

Without a word, Ijaou sprinted towards the burning buildings.